I don't think it's necessary to learn fancy ways to defend yourself simply because you think you can't. Are you constantly being jumped or mugged? If so, then sure, by all means, but I wouldn't default to something impractical. When's the last time you saw a guy successfully round-house kick someone in an actual street fight? (Please don't post a video)
Normally, you won't have time to think of all the shit you "learned" in Karate class. You simply have to be able to end the fight first, and a guy whaling one-twos on your face will make that difficult if you're douching around worrying about how ninja your stance is.
Also, getting your ass kicked is one of the best training methods there are, and should never be looked down upon. Leave the ego out of it. Truly not being afraid of a fight, win or lose, makes you a lot more dangerous. I guarantee you that this is true.

That said, if you end up in a position where you have no choice but to defend yourself in a fist fight, just go with your instinct, as that's what's going to take over anyway. But that instinct is going to remain the same as it currently is, regardless of how many books you read.
Good fighters get that way by fighting.
It really can't be said more simply than that.

Ex military me - I'm a trained killer of wood and paper targets. I can hit anything that doesn't move at 300 metres with a 7.62.

But that's the thing. I don't want to be Bruce Lee and get into fight scenes in allyways. I just want simple techniques for ending fights before they begin, and if they last I want to make sure I handle it. I've gotten the sh*t beat out of me quite a bit because I didn't know how to block or return at all.

I don't know. I'd just rather learn this kind of stuff now while I'm at home and have plenty of time on my hands. Plus, I figure the research on this kind of stuff will be helpful for my film projects so why not go all out?

Dead serious.

Yea I saw that vid before. Not a good example, considering the details that actually mattered having little to do with martial arts training and the resulting stances and poses employed that ended up contributing absolutely nothing. Notice the actual exchange of blows that ended the fight. Wild swings from our ninja that all missed except the last lucky one. Considering the reach advantage, the luck was a little one-sided to begin with.

@ Conan:
I'm sorry for your misfortune, but simply reading something isn't going to add skill points. You'd actually have to get out there and employ it and turn it into something you can rely on. I know you don't think you can just read a book, memorize moves, and check this whole thing off the to-do list.
I'm just wondering how far you're trying to go with it.
I personally think you should be fine as most folks usually live most of their adult lives without ever needing to throw a punch.

Not having to worry about fist-fights gets a lot more relevant as you get older. You'll see.

I think you should take classes if you really want to get good. I disagree with Freebase with what he was saying at first but I completely agree with needed to find yourself in these situations to get better. You don't actually have to fight, but these fight simulations once you are trained trained your mind and your body to react with defensive "moves" and such for the future, if you ever ARE in the situation. I respect your sense of urgency to feel the need to protect and be protected, and I think classes would be the best way to handle this so that you have other people around you and you're not trying to find your way on your own. It's like learning to play guitar without the guitar in your hands, you can learn what you're SUPPOSED to do and what other people do, but until you have the guitar in your hands, until you can interact on your own with your own instrument, it's hard to say you know how to play.

Have you tried acting weird? If you look unstable, people just won't wanna fuck with you.

lol I've used that in the past and it works so well

As per what Freebase and Sugar were saying,

I definitely know what you are saying. Reading a book won't do anything if I'm not practicing/training with other people. Or just generally using what I learn. The guitar analogy was a good one. But I should have been a bit more specific in the OP, I actually do have people to practice with who know this stuff but either don't have time to formally teach me or want money that I don't have. They will practice with me, though. And I left out that another factor in this is just exercise and physical fitness.

Idk, it's not the most pressing thing ever. It's pretty close to just a passive interest anyway. I appreciate all the (serious) response to what I said. But this might be the first thread I close :D....

I think it's an interesting topic though, tbh. I've been thinking of self defense. I mean, I'm strong. And I'm ****ing tall. But like, sometimes I just want to know what to do incase I ever do get into a situation where I need to defend myself. I don't ever want to wish I knew more after the fact, or not have the chance to wish I knew more. Do you know what I mean? Self defense is so important, and I think taking the opportunity to learn it and talk about it is important as well.